Free Falling
by Michebellaxo
Summary: Prequel to Welcome Home. How David and Regina fell in love despite the circumstances surrounding them.


**This is a prequel to Welcome Home, in which David and Regina bring their first child together home from the hospital. I had a request that I show how they came to fall in love, since I wrote the story to take place after Snow and David had Neal. Hopefully this is satisfactory.**

* * *

"Dad," Emma said in a half whine, causing David to look up from the paperwork he was finishing.

"What's up, Emma?" David asked.

"I have this stack of papers that I really need to take to Regina."

"Ok, well I think I can cover the station, its not like there's much going on."

"Actually… I was thinking that maybe you could take them to her on your lunch. I mean, since the whole time traveling thing and the Marian thing… Regina doesn't want to see me. And I know you kind of like having excuses to not go home during lunch, you know, since mom has kind of gone crazy with the baby around." It was true. It had been just nine months since the baby was born and since Emma had accidentally destroyed Regina's chance at happiness, and she was still making no leeway with getting Regina back on friendly terms, and David was going to go crazy with an extra crabby Snow, even though the baby was nearly perfect.

"Yeah, ok. I can't really argue with that point."

"Awesome, thanks. And… you know, I only ever have Henry to get information on her and she doesn't show him her real pain, so if you can get anything out of her, how she's really doing or whatever… can you tell me?"

"You want me to talk to Regina."

"Well, yeah. You all got closer when you were in the Enchanted Forest, right? I mean… you guys are sort of friendly now."

"Fine. I'll see what I can do."

David spent three days that week of his lunch breaks shuffling paperwork, and on that third day, a Friday afternoon, David brought lunch, requesting Ruby to make whatever Regina usually ordered and getting a burger with onion rings for himself. When he showed up at her office with food, Regina raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

"Is this a date?" she joked, finally warming up to the idea of having an actual friend in the prince.

"Hardly. It's a working lunch, I'm sure you've heard of those," he shot back.

"Indeed." She led him to the table and he placed their carryout containers in front of chairs next to each other. Humming, she walked to her drink table and poured herself an apple cider. "Would you like one?"

"Drinking on the job?"

"I know my drinks are strong, but I doubt you will get drunk off one. Well, unless you have the alcohol tolerance of your daughter. Can you handle one drink, _your Highness_?"

"If you can handle one, _your Majesty_," he countered, "then I can handle one."

"Very well." Pouring a second drink, she carried both tumblers over to the table and sat down beside him.

They chatted as they ate, Regina not so covertly stealing David's onion rings, and they managed to down three drinks each. A couple of hours passed, and at some point they had made it to the couch, and Regina looked over at David.

"How is raising a baby, since I took away your chance last time?"

"It's fine. He's incredible, and it's a lot of fun watching him grow."

"But…?"

"How do you know there's a but?"

"Because your tone. Now, out with it."

"Snow just… she doesn't let me help and while most dads would find that to be awesome, I don't. Whenever I grab something to feed him it's the wrong thing, or I'm giving him too much formula in comparison to the amount of breast milk he's getting, or he doesn't eat peas for dinner, only for lunch, and he doesn't get to hold his blanket unless it's bedtime or naptime."

"Ah… so she's _that_ kind of mother."

"I shouldn't be complaining."

"It's ok, David," Regina argued, reaching to rest one hand on his arm. "We can be friends, right? You can complain to me about all the things that you can't complain to anyone else about and you'll keep me company."

"Yeah. I like that idea. Oh, but I'm supposed to be getting you to not be mad at Emma anymore."

"Dear, I stopped being mad at Emma months ago, it is of her own doing that I am not friends with her. She stopped trying to come around or talk after the first two months, and you know I wasn't going to go easy on her! Easy isn't in my book. Anyway, she just hasn't really tried since, I'm assuming because she thought I was still mad at her, but I'm not."

"Oh man, can I tell her?"

"Absolutely not! She needs to man up and come talk to me." David chuckled at her words, and their long lunch soon ended.

**Three Months Later**

"Are you coming to the birthday party?" David asked Regina as he pushed Neal in his stroller up to the park bench where she was sitting.

"Good morning, dear. Well, as long as I'm invited, I'll be there."

"Did you not get an invitation?" David asked, his eyebrows stitching together.

"I did. It was a joke, David."

"Oh, ok."

"When is it again?"

"Regina! It's tomorrow at—" David stopped talking when he heard her chuckling softly beside him. Narrowing his eyes at her, he spoke again. "You're joking again, aren't you?"

"More like teasing," she answered with a smile.

"Good. Neal would hate it if you weren't there."

"He's one, he wouldn't notice."

"Wanna bet?" David asked, pulling Neal out of his stroller. "Hey Neal, where's Regina? Do you know where Regina is?" When the one year old automatically reached out for the brunette, Regina smiled and got slightly teary eyed, reaching out and taking the boy from David.

"Hey sweetheart, I haven't seen you in a whole week! I've missed you," she cooed, placing him so he was standing on her knees as she bounced him. Neal babbled away, pointing at David and saying "dada" over and over, while smiling at the birds flying around the water.

"Snow said to tell you 'hello,'" David told her, poking Neal in the stomach as Regina played with him.

"You'll have to tell her the same from me."

"You guys should have lunch sometime."

"Perhaps."

"What makes it so easy for you to get along with me, but not her?"

Tilting her head, Regina thought about it a moment before saying, "Perhaps old grudges die hard. At least we aren't fighting anymore, David. We'll save each other when we need to, and we had a moment after the séance, but there's too much history and pain. And after I showed her I was still bitter when I spoke to Emma the way I did when she brought Marian back… I think it will be a while longer."

"I bet it won't. Just talk to her at the party tomorrow."

The party was when things started to change. Regina talked to Snow, and they made a tentative plan for lunch, though when Snow began to finish decorating Neal's smash cake, and David tried to help, being brushed off and sent to the living room, Regina rolled her eyes at the other brunette and followed David out.

"Are you alright, dear?" she asked softly, standing beside him and watching Neal play with Aurora's child and Alexandra.

"I'm fine," he answered, jaw clenched and arms crossed.

"You know… you don't have to be fine with me, you can tell me the truth David, we're friends, remember?"

"Yeah. I just want to help, I want to be involved in making decisions about Neal's life. I want to have a say in him getting vaccinated, and what he eats for lunch if he's in my care. I'm as much his parent as she is! I know I didn't carry him, but I helped make him."

"I know, David." Regina reached her arm across her body, squeezing his bicep in comfort. "It'll be ok. Just start asserting yourself." Nudging him to face her, Regina moved her hand from his bicep to his forearm, which was still folded with the other across his chest. "You are always too kind to the people you love, but darling, there is a difference between being too kind and letting people push you around, and Snow has _always_ pushed you around. You're an amazing father, and Neal adores you, Emma is your best friend… just you know, push for what you deserve."

"You're wrong, you know."

"About what?"

"Emma is one of my closest friends, and no one will ever replace her. But somehow, you've become my best friend." The only response Regina could find worthy was a wide smile, and before she could think of something to say, Snow was bringing out the cake and starting the song.

Emma watched from the door way behind them, doubting that either knew she was there. She found it curious that David and Regina had become such close friends in such a short amount of time, but she couldn't imagine her father, Prince Charming, doing anything to ruin his marriage or bring his wife pain, so she vowed to just keep a long distance watch on him.

**Three Months Later**

Regina was sitting at Granny's diner on a Wednesday, waiting for David and Emma to get to their lunch date. Emma had been tagging along a lot lately, and Regina wondered if she knew about the feelings blossoming inside of her for the Prince. She knew it was wrong, he was married and he would never leave Snow, but he was so kind and she was so lacking in love, that she couldn't help but find herself spiraling hard into some deep and emotional feelings for him.

Emma arrived first, saying David went home real quick. When he entered the diner with Neal, who was teetering slowly in front of him on his own two feet, Regina jumped from the booth and crouched in front of the little boy excitedly.

"Oh! You're such a big boy!" she cooed, clapping for him. Standing, she smiled at David, saying, "He wasn't even close on Saturday!"

"I know! I took him for a walk on Monday, pulling him along with my hands and let go and he just kept going."

"Thanks for bringing him so I could see," she said softly, smiling brightly at him.

"Of course, like I've said a hundred times, he adores you."

"Good thing it's mutual," she answered, taking one of Neal's small hands and pulling him along with her. Holding him in her lap, Regina sat back on the side of the booth she had been in before, and David sat down next to Emma, much to the blonde woman's relief.

When Friday came, David brought dinner to Regina's office just before business hours were over, and she was getting ready to leave. When he entered her enclosed office, with her secretary's permission, Regina looked up from digging her purse out of her drawer.

"David, what are you doing here?"

"I brought food. I was hoping we could eat and drink."

"You look upset."

"Yeah, I was hoping talking could be included," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm.

"Of course, darling. Henry is with Emma this weekend, so I don't have any place to be, you can stay as long as you'd like. Or… we could go to my house?"

"I think… maybe we should stay here." Regina nodded, she understood why he wouldn't want to go to her house, especially when she imagined he could tell she was developing feelings for him, as hard as she tried to not show them.

Setting up at the couch instead of the table, Regina poured them each a drink, bringing the decanter of liquor over to the coffee table by their food. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, but I sort of feel like I have to, like I need to get it off my chest."

"Well, let's eat and talk then." They combined David's onion rings and Regina's fries. She snuck a bite of his burger, and he stole a piece of bacon from her turkey club sandwich. It was a routine they had, neither wanting to change their order, but both always being tempted by the other's. They ate and drank and chatted easily about Neal and Henry, until they rounded around to Snow. "Tell me what's wrong, David."

"I just... she's my True Love, and I love her, but lately it seems like we can't agree on anything, especially when it comes to Neal. He's such a good baby but we want to discipline differently and I think it's ok for him to watch a couple of cartoons in the morning as he's waking up and she doesn't. I wish she would go back to work full-time so I could just have some time alone with him."

"You have our outings."

"Yeah, our outings that she doesn't like anymore because Neal talks about you."

"He does?" Regina asked softly.

"Yeah. I mean, he sees you once or twice a week and you're fun, you don't yell at him or discipline him and you give him treats and toys, of course he likes you. You're like the cool aunt or something."

"But she doesn't want them anymore."

"Well, no, but that's not even an option. She controls everything else for Neal and me, she isn't controlling what time time I spend with my friends," David stated, his voice strong and still. Regina watched him with admiration in her eyes, sinking into his sky blue eyes, and watching his pink, full lips.

"Regina," he said softly, when he caught her eyes on his mouth. Chocolate eyes quickly flicked up.

"Sorry, the alcohol must be getting to me," she tried and David chuckled, scooting closer to her.

"Nice try. You're only on your third, just like me, and… well, last time we each had three we certainly weren't this close to anything."

"What does that mean?" Regina asked, tilting her head. And when David leaned forward and pressed his warm lips to hers, she couldn't push him away. She'd been wanting to taste him for months, had been wanting to feel his soft lips against hers for too long. She'd found him attractive in the Enchanted Forest, but he was a false prince there. Here he was just David, the son of a shepherd, a father, her deputy sheriff... her closest friend. She wanted to push him away, part of her did, anyway, the part that didn't want to ruin their friendship, and gods, what if Snow found out? She'd never be able to see Neal or David again. But the stronger part of her grasped his collar and pulled him closer.

Pushing her back with his body as he moved over her, David cradled her face in one hand, barely moving his lips from hers and sliding his tongue against her bottom lip. When Regina opened her mouth to him and slid her tongue out against his, it was like he hadn't been kissed before. She was skilled, and he didn't care about the taste of fries and apple cider on her breath, she was delicious.

"David," she breathed, pulling back just slightly. "We can't… I… what about…" she tried a collection of arguments, each one dying on the tip of her tongue as his lips started making their way across her jaw and down her neck. The hand that wasn't holding her face moved down her body, exploring her curves.

"Regina, just stop fighting me, I _know_ how you look at me." Bringing his face back to hers to look into her eyes, David searched hers for a fight. "Do you want me to stop? Because I will, I respect you and I would never force you to do anything you don't want… you know that, right?"

"I know," she answered breathlessly, cupping his face in her hands and pulling him back to her in a heated kiss. Somehow, without completely disentangling themselves, Regina and David both ended up without their shirts, though Regina was still in her sky blue bra. Not like the light blue, like the darker blue, almost like nighttime.

"This color with your skin…" David whispered, kissing the exposed skin on her chest. "Gods Regina you are incredible."

"Shush and kiss me," Regina teased, bringing his mouth back to hers before she moved her hands down his body. Unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his jeans, she slid one hand into his underwear and wrapped it around his hard cock, causing his breath to hitch against her mouth. "Oh my _gods_, David," she moaned, sliding her hand along his length and aching to feel him fill her completely

"Fuck Regina… I… we can't," David said, pulling away and out of her grasp. After he adjusted himself and had his pants and shirt back in place, he handed Regina her shirt, waiting for her to put it on. Once she was redressed, David leaned in and kissed her lips softly. "What have you done to me?"

"Nothing, I can assure you I've casted no evil spell," she growled.

"That is not what I meant. I… you called me incorruptible yourself, back in the Enchanted Forest, but I… I didn't know you, now I know you and I want you."

"I… I shouldn't want you. You have a child, and I don't want to be a home wrecker!"

"So, we pretend this didn't happen?"

"I suppose so."

**Three Months Later**

David and Regina still had lunch a couple of days a week, and they met at the park or at Granny's with Neal one day each weekend. Snow and Regina were tentatively rebuilding their relationship, but Regina still felt guilty, unable to push her feelings for the prince away. One afternoon, when she, David and Emma usually would have met for lunch, Regina called the station and said she was swamped and couldn't make it, so Emma and David grabbed her lunch and brought it to her office, and while Emma ate, David helped Regina through her paperwork, even though she kept telling them she was fine, she just needed to work through lunch. He wouldn't let it lie, though.

Taking the last fifteen minutes of her usual lunch hour to sit with them and eat, Regina casually tossed a fry at Emma. "You're useless. What did you come to babysit us? At least David helped!"

"Hey! You insisted we didn't help! Dad is just even more stubborn than you!"

"Well, Prince Charming and all, I suppose," Regina added dryly. Just then all three of their phones started ringing, the hospital for Emma and Regina and Snow for David.

They rushed into the hospital, all of them having taken one car. Henry was in the same bed he'd been laying in after he ate the cursed turnover. When Snow came out holding Neal, all three of them bombarded her.

"Calm down, he's fine."

"But what happened?" Regina growled, getting into Snow's face until David pulled her back by her shoulder.

"Give her a second to tell us, Regina," he told her.

"So?" she asked, impatiently.

"We went for a walk, Neal and I, and Henry caught up with us outside of the school, and there were shots fired before he left the school, someone in the school had a gun and shot three shots. Henry got hit in the leg. He's fine. Dr. Whale said the bleeding stopped and other than wanting to get the bullet out, nothing will require extensive repair beyond natural healing."

"Henry was shot?" Emma yelled.

"He was shot and you say he's fine! That's not fine! No child should ever have to worry about being shot! He's thirteen! What makes you think he's fine! He'll probably be scared to go back to school!"

"I need to get down there!" Emma said.

"No, you need to stay here."

"You don't want to stay with him?"

"Of course I do! But… if there's anyone there that is injured, I'm going to be able to help them more than you, I can heal them, and healing isn't really something you've mastered."

"Can't you heal Henry?"

"Not until the bullet is out. I'll go in and see him, but then I need to go to the school."

"I'll go down to the school with you," David offered. "One of us should have a gun, and it's probably not a good idea to send you alone."

Sighing, Regina nodded. "You can see Henry after me then. Give me a moment."

When they got to the school, they saw that everyone else was physically well. David pulled his gun out, and Regina readied herself to use magic if they needed her to. As they walked slowly around the school, making sure everyone was out, Regina led David into the library, even at his insistence that she walk behind him. Hearing someone crying, Regina walked slowly toward the sound to a boy who looked almost eighteen. She saw the gun and her instinct was to hurt him, but she knew better. Kneeling slowly to reach for the gun, Regina was soon on the ground beside him, though his hand found the gun first and it was pointed at her stomach.

"Hey hey," she soothed. "I'm not here to hurt you, I came to make sure you are ok. Are you? Did you get hurt?"

"I'm the one that did the hurting!" the boy shouted defiantly.

"I see that you have a gun. Why don't you let the deputy take it and we can get you to the hospital."

"No!" he yelled, his hand raising the gun, pointing it at her chest as his hand shook. David nearly collapsed at the sight of a gun pointed straight at Regina's heart.

"We just want to help. We aren't going to take you to jail, ok? We just want to make sure you didn't get hurt and that you aren't experiencing shock or anything. I promise we aren't here to hurt you."

"Make the cop go away!"

Regina turned to David and nodded, and though he tried to make her let him stay she shook her head and mouthed 'go' to him. He left her alone, pacing outside of the library, until he heard a gunshot, followed by the boy bursting through the doors without the gun in his hand. David ran through the library, heading to the back, where he found Regina kneeling on the floor, fine and unharmed. He crashed to his knees and pulled her into his arms.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, David. He… he shot past me when he got scared. I almost broke through to him."

"Regina! Do you have any idea how worried I was? When I heard that gun go off, I thought… I was worried you were dead!" David whispered, his mouth at her ear as he held her. He pulled away to look at her, holding her face in his hands as tears ran down his cheeks. "I thought I had lost you."

"David, I—" Regina was cut off by his mouth covering hers in a hard kiss, and he moved his hands from her face so he could wrap them around her body, holding her tightly against him as he continued kissing her roughly. When he broke away, he kissed her quickly and softer, followed by a series of gentle kisses all over her face and neck.

"Don't you _ever_ do that to me again. Are we clear?" he hissed, still angry at her for putting herself in danger. Nodding, Regina held him close again.

"I'm sorry. Never again."

**Three Months Later**

It was Henry's fourteenth birthday and they were having a huge party at Granny's. David and Regina hadn't talked about what happened the day of the shooting, they never told anyone else and they never said a word between the two of them. But as the boy who shot the gun, who Henry had made friends with, walked into the diner, Regina choked on the air in her lungs and her eyes went wide, her body shaking. She started backing out of the room and David, who was always aware of where she was, noticed her reaction and followed her gaze to the boy. He stood, hurrying to Regina and ushered her into the back hallway of the diner.

Kneeling to the floor and pulling her down with him, David soothed her, instructing her to breathe deep and slow. He rubbed her back as she calmed down, and when they stood, he pulled her into his arms. They were gone for nearly ten minutes, so it didn't surprise either of them that someone came looking, and that someone was Emma.

"Regina, you doing alright?" the blonde asked.

"Yes," she answered softly, nodding slowly. "Thank you." When Emma walked closer to them, Regina straightened her clothes and wiped the make-up from her face. "I'm just going to clean up in the bathroom." Looking at David she forced out a quick, "You can tell her," before she moved away and headed into the Ladies room.

"Tell me what?"

"That day of the school shooting, Henry's new friend was the shooter. Yes, before you ask, Henry knows. The kid was bullied and scared and Regina was trying to help him, and he was pointing the gun straight at her heart. He… he shot at her but missed and ran. She… she could have _died_," David answered, sighing. "She just had a panic attack, so I came back to help because nobody else knew what happened that day."

"Shit," Emma whispered, surprised she never heard anything about it.

"She didn't want the boy to get in trouble. He… he made a mistake, other than the shooting he has a remarkable record in Storybrooke, and good school records and attendance, he's just bullied and was tired of it."

"I understand that, but the law needed to be informed."

"_I_ was there. I saw it, I was informed and I made a decision. It was fine."

Tilting her head, Emma nodded slowly. "You love her, don't you?"

"Who?"

"Regina. Don't play stupid with me."

David sighed and stood in silence for a moment before he caught Emma's eye and nodded. "Yes. Yes, I love her. I… I didn't mean to, and I don't know how it happened… but it did."

"Have you slept with her?"

"No! No I haven't, we… no, I've kissed her on two different occasions, but nothing else."

"Seriously? David, why would you kiss her?" Emma growled in a low voice.

"We… she's… I wanted to! I have no valid excuse for doing it. But it never went farther. I didn't _mean_ to fall in love with her."

"So what are you going to do?"

"What _can I do_? I… have an almost two-year-old son and I do still love Snow, it's just… different now."

"So you're not in love with mom anymore?"

"I… no, I don't think so."

"Then you need to man up and tell her, she doesn't deserve this."

Nodding, David frowned and agreed he would tell her soon. Emma walked away, back to the party and that was when Regina came out of the bathroom. She looked at David with her head tilted, stopping when she was in front of him.

"I overheard your conversation. Not the whole thing… just the last bit."

"Oh," he whispered, his face flushing and he tried to turn away. Regina turned his face back toward her, searching his eyes for deception.

"Was it true?"

"I… yeah. Yeah, it is. Sometime in the last year I fell for you, and I tried to deny it and ignore it, but then that day… that day when we almost… I knew it wasn't going to be long before I couldn't keep lying to everyone, myself and you included."

"What if I say I don't feel the same way?" she asked quietly.

Shrugging, David answered, "Then I leave Snow because it's still not fair to her that I'm no longer in love with her, and I try to get over you so I can keep my best friend."

"So you aren't going to stay with her just because I say I don't want to be with you?"

"No, that's… cruel. And weak. I've been weak before, and I don't want to be it again."

"Good. Can I tell you a secret?" Regina whispered, stepping closer to him. When he nodded, she smiled and said, "I love you, too. I just… I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be just some good time fuck or something for you to turn around and go back to Snow eventually. I… I honestly didn't know you have feelings for me."

"Well, I do."

David told Snow two days later and she didn't take the news well at all, which was to be expected. But he moved into an apartment near the station and he and Regina started dating, much to the town's contempt. It took nearly another year before Regina invited him to live with her, and it was only half a year later when she got pregnant and they got married. It was a small ceremony, the bride and groom, Emma and Henry, Neal and Robin, Marian and Roland, who turned out to be very good friends of the family. Archie and Granny showed with Ruby, and it was a beautiful day. If anyone there was asked when they'd seen Regina so happy, no one would be able to give you an answer, because it was the happiest they'd ever seen her.


End file.
